Fatigue in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: Prevalence, Burden and Pharmacological Approaches to Management

Abstract

Fatigue is a frequently reported symptom in major depressive disorder, occurring in over 90% of patients. Clinical presentations of fatigue within major depressive disorder encompass overlapping physical, cognitive and emotional aspects. While this review addresses the epidemiology, burden, functional impact and management of fatigue in major depressive disorder, the main focus is on available pharmacotherapy options and their comparative efficacies. Our review of the effects of pharmacological treatments on fatigue in major depressive disorder found that medications with dopaminergic and/or noradrenergic action such as modafinil, flupenthixol and atomoxetine were most effective in improving symptoms of fatigue and low energy. However, significant variation across studies in assessment tools and study inclusion/exclusion criteria may have contributed to inconsistent findings. The efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions is also discussed, including light therapy and exercise.

Gut Microbiota in Alzheimer’s Disease, Depression, and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Role of Oxidative Stress

“…It is characterized by depressed mood, apathy, anhedonia, sleep disturbances, appetite or weight changes, psychomotor retardation [67] or agitation, cognitive impairment, thoughts of guilt, and recurrent thoughts about death or suicide [68]. This mental disorder, strongly associated with fatigue, loss of productivity, and increased mortality, represents an economic burden for public health [69].…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Fatigue and Its Association with Quality of Life Among Clinically Stable Older Psychiatric Patients During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Fatigue is common in depressed patients, particularly in those with comorbid somatic symptoms. Previous studies have found that most patients with major depression complain of fatigue (Ghanean et al, 2018), which may be partly due to common underlying genetic factors (Cor eld et al, 2016). In addition, fatigue could be induced by antidepressant medications (Marin et al, 2004).…”

Prevalence and correlates of fatigue and its association with quality of life among clinically stable older psychiatric patients during the COVID-19 outbreak: A cross-sectional study

“…Fatigue is common in depressed patients, particularly in those with comorbid somatic symptoms. Previous studies have found that many depressed patients complain of fatigue (Conradi et al, 2011;Ghanean et al, 2018;McIntyre et al, 2002), an effect that may be partly due to common underlying genetic factors (Cor eld et al, 2016). In addition, fatigue could be induced by antidepressant medications (Marin & Menza, 2004).…”